Title: The Redemption of George Hammond

Chapter 11

Author: Selmak

Introduction: Jake Carter returns and he's not happy with George.

Rating: R – Non-Con Sex. Violence. Cursing. Not a Happy Piece o' Fiction.

Pairings: Yes Several M/F/S (Male FemaleSymbiote) – but not who'd you expect more than likely.

Comments: For those that have stuck it out this far, I apologize for the delay in chapters. George is not being cooperative, loudly screaming, "I don't want to play anymore!" Seriously though, real life can be such a drag sometimes.

George was sitting in his cell, his sixth sense nudging him and preventing him from sleeping. Well perhaps, truthfully, it wasn't his sixth sense, but his inner Jiminy Cricket, who was screaming obscenities at him. Funny, when he had read Pinocchio to his granddaughters, nowhere did it say that Jiminy Cricket had a potty mouth. He couldn't remember a hell of a lot these days, but somehow that idea was stuck in his head.

Nights like this he'd walk the night away, until he was physically exhausted enough to sleep. But not tonight, as George could feel in his bones, that something was gonna happen tonight. For good or for bad, tonight was important.

Therefore, he wasn't surprised when someone walked into the room.

What surprised him was… who it was…. Who they were….

Jacob Carter and Selmak.

When the Sam Hell did they get back?

"Wait outside," Jake roughly ordered the Super Soldiers.

After the mindless drones had left the room, Jake faced George and gave him a slight, calculating smile.

"George…" Jake said slowly. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you… and it better be a damn good one…"

There was nothing akin to friendship in the man that stood before him.

No, that was untrue.

There was nothing resembling humanity in Jacob's dark eyes, instead there was a cold, emotionless void.

George would have welcomed fury, as it was a human emotion and yes, by all means, Jacob should be royally pissed with him. Instead, Jacob's icy eyes were dark and unfathomable as the still, cold depths of space.

"I'm waiting for an answer, George…" System Lord Jacob said in a very soft, extremely dangerous voice. "I trusted you with my daughter, George. I thought… you'd be good for her… and instead… you violated her…"

Jake spat that comment at George; at last expressing his rage over the harm that George had done to Jake's daughter. George said nothing, because he couldn't think of any reason why Jacob shouldn't kill him.

"I'm waiting for a response," Jacob reminded him. "Why shouldn'tI kill you?"

"Because that would be the easy way out, Jacob," George stated quietly.

"Easy?" Jacob questioned softly. Jacob then barked a short, bitter laugh, before he rubbed the back of his head. "Easy? You better explain to me, why it's the easy way out, George."

"Yes," George answered. "If I were dead, I wouldn't have to remember what I did to her every single time I looked at her."

"So… I should spare your worthless life, George, just so you can feel guilty?" Jacob roared.

George tried to prepare himself for what would happen next, as he had witnessed Jake/Selmak's tempers numerous times, but when Selmak threw him against the wall with a casual gesture of a ribbon-device covered hand, he was still surprised by the amount of pain caused by the impact. He slid to the floor, clutching the right side of his chest, feeling the pieces of his busted ribs rub and grind against each other.

He welcomed the pain as his due, his long overdue punishment, but George's agonizing pain brought unexpected comprehension. Somehow, the pain from his shattered ribs brought him an unanticipated clarity of thought, and now one single, solitary thought was engraved in his mind.

He had to protect Samantha and Janet, plus the children, from Jacob and Selmak.

"George… what does it feel like to be hit by someone more powerful than you?" System Lord Jacob asked. "Should I feel guilty?"

"No…" George whispered. "I deserve this and more…"

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Jacob screamed in a raw voice. "SAY IT LOUDER, GEORGE."

"I deserve this," George answered. "I do. I admit that."

"LOUDER!" roared Jacob. "By the time I'm done with you, I'm going to make you scream… and you'll beg for me to stop… just like my daughter did…Get on your goddamn feet! Take your punishment like a man, solider!"

Carefully, George got to his feet, and nodded his head in acknowledgement. The tables had turned and now a mentally shaky George Hammond was the sane one, and Jacob and Selmak were the ones sliding into the unplumbed, icy depths of insanity. As Jacob had held him together for years using a mixture of sheer desperation, spit, glue and a few yards of duct tape, now it was his turn to try to support Jacob and Selmak's tentative grips on their sanity.

After all, Jacob and he were bound together by a shared past, two old men who should have died a long time ago, two soldiers who had rained nuclear fire down upon the earth and all the billions upon billions of helpless inhabitants who simply had the misfortune of being unable to escape.

"Go ahead, Jacob, I'm on my feet…" he rumbled. "Do what you have to…"

George swayed unsteadily, trying his damndest not to collapse because if Jacob took enough of his anger on him, perhaps both Janet and Samantha… and the children… oh those sweet innocent children, whose only sin was their fathers were madmen, would be spared.

This time, Jake unleashed enough power to throw him even harder across the room, and George would have sworn that he had left a head-sized crater in the wall. He tried to stand, but quickly realized that his body wasn't responding to his commands, and instead his body was insisting on sliding down the wall. He tried standing, kept endeavoring in vain, until he fell over on his injured side.

He bit his lip hard to prevent himself from crying out, tasting the salty metallic taste of blood in his mouth.

"George… by the time I'm done with you, you will know…first hand, what my daughter experienced…" Jake stated in a very mild tone. "Fortunately…. You're not my type… so you don't have to experience… that… but I'll make sure that I'll do something just as humiliating… and just as painful…by the time I'm done with you, you'll be weeping just like she was."

The room was spinning… no… the world was spinning on its axis… spinning so fast that George couldn't stand… all he could do was hold onto the floor and prepare himself for the next blow.

"What do you have to say for yourself, Hammond?" Kinsey questioned softly.

George realized that he must have one hell of a head injury if he was hallucinating he was back in the SGC, using his bulk to block a knife-wielding Kinsey from both Kayla and Tess. No… no… that had never happened, he remembered.

Jake kicked him hard, shattering more ribs and then the System Lord, the madman who George knew to be his only friend left alive, yanked George by his ears onto his feet.

"What do you have to say, George?" Selmak asked.

"I deserve this… and so much, much more…" George gasped slowly.

"No... no… no…George," Selmak insisted in a patronizing voice. "You're supposed to be begging us to stop hurting you… Not egging us on…"

The blows landed again, first in his ribs, then his back, then whatever spot Jake could reach.

George uttered not a word, biting his lip to prevent himself from crying out. Accepting his punishment, he grew increasingly lightheaded until he saw Marie. She was radiant and she was wearing a flowing, white dress which trailed behind her. Her long hair was undone and she was smiling joyfully at him. She reached for him, one hand outstretched… offering him the peace that he craved, the sweet absolution of the grave…

Then the Angel of Death, for that was who it truly was, who just looked like his dear, sweet Marie, spoke to him…

Come with me, George…. Lay down your burdens and find whatever peace you can among your restless dead.

He had never gotten this close to the final exit in all his years of trying; something or some bond had always interfered, keeping his soul tethered too tightly to the land of the living. But now… now he had given up all hope of salvation… his final release… was within arm's grasp.

All he had to do was say, "Yes…"

It was then that George wept, for he had to refuse the sweet oblivion that he had craved for such a long time, and the easiest solution to all the problems he had created.

I can't go with you, Marie…

I have to protect the children…

I have to get Samantha home again…

Janet woke up slowly, and she tried to snuggle closer to Jacob. But he wasn't in bed with her and his side of the bed was rather cold, meaning that he hadn't been there for a while. Sighing in exasperation, she sat up, and she hissed in annoyance. She didn't see his clothes hanging over the back of his chair nor did she see his shoes.

"Damn it," she whispered. "You're home for the first time in months, and you can't sleep in? You owe me cuddle time, Carter!"

She grabbed her robe, dressed quickly and walked out to the living room. Samantha was sitting on the couch, absently stroking Austin's head which was in her lap. Judging from the sunlight pouring into the windows, it was mid-morning, if not later.

"Good morning," Janet said cheerfully. She poured some orange juice for herself and grabbed a bagel for breakfast before sitting down in a chair close to where Sam was sitting. "Did you eat?"

"Kinda queasy, so I only had a little snack. But you're in a great mood," Samantha teased.

"Did you see your father?" Janet questioned.

"No, is he home?" Samantha questioned quickly.

"Yes," the doctor giggled. "I guess that means we didn't make too much noise last night. I worried that I'd wake you up as I was having a religious experience… repeatedly…"

Samantha shook her head and grimaced playfully, "That's too much information for me. I don't want to know about you and my father having sex, Janet. I'll see about getting a new apartment so I don't cramp your style."

"No... No… I wouldn't think of it. So how did things go with you and George after I left?" Janet questioned. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you alone with him… but I was exhausted…"

"We talked…" Samantha stated quietly in a voice that said she didn't want to discuss it any further.

"Ok, honey… I won't pry, but if you want to talk, let me know," Janet reminded her.

Then the door to the suite opened and Jacob walked into the room.

"If it isn't two of my favorite girls," he said happily while he entered the room.

He walked over to his wife, and he kissed her passionately before holding her at arms' length so he could inspect her. A smile appeared on his grim face when he looked at her, and his voice turned softer, "You look beautiful, Janet. You're glowing. I wish I hadn't been away for so long, but Dixon isn't that strong a second. We had some unforeseen problems…"

Jake sighed and shook his head. "The Kid's got to learn sooner or later. George and I aren't going to be around forever…hopefully."

"Where did you go, Jake?" Janet asked. "I woke up and you were gone."

"Had to see George," Jake admitted easily. "I know you've been giving me reports on him, but I wanted to see him up close and personal just to see how he's doing. Samantha…"

He held out his arms for her, and Samantha stood up, realizing that it was a silent request for a command performance by her, to act like the proud, dutiful daughter. Jake embraced his daughter and then kissed her on her cheek. Much to her obvious surprise, he hugged her tightly and then played with her hair, much like he had done when she was a small girl.

"I had a long conversation with George, Sammy," Jake said softly to his daughter. "He's truly repentant about what happened between you two. I know there's nothing he could ever do to wipe away what he did to you, but believe me when I tell you, he's very remorseful. He was in tears by the time we were done chatting, Sammy. So he does know what he did to you was very, very wrong…"

Janet's smile faded abruptly, but then was replaced by another mega-watt smile so bright that Samantha could have sworn that she was having a hallucination.

"Jake, you and Selmak must be exhausted, why don't you go back to bed," Janet suggested in a soft bedroom voice. "Let me get my massage oils and I'll rub your neck for a bit. I know you and Selmak have been under a lot of stress with this campaign and you always carry your tension in your neck. Let me loosen up your neck muscles, Jake, so poor Selmak can wiggle a little in there…"

"You are so thoughtful," Selmak purred, as Selmak Jacob disengaged from their hug with Samantha.

"I'll be a few minutes, so why don't you take a long, hot bath first… and when you're done…" Janet suggested before giving Jacob and Selmak a sly wink.

Jacob laughed softly, and nodded his head. "Off to the showers, we go!"

Janet continued to smile until Jacob left the room, and then she turned to face Samantha. The good-natured look on Janet's face disappeared and was replaced by a very anxious expression.

"Sam, you have to go check on George… please…" Janet whispered. "I'll give you a healing device, there's a good chance you might need it. If there's a problem, talk to Brightman… she's the only one on the medical staff that I trust… please… go… now… Siler and Davis, you can also."

"What?" Samantha questioned. "I have no one to watch the girls…"

"Samantha… listen to me…" Janet whispered in a very soft voice. "Your father has blood on his hands… He's acting… peculiar… for your father… I'm worried that he might have killed George… during their… conversation… so…please… go check on George…I'll watch the girls…"

Samantha left the suite and she tried, unsuccessfully as always, to ignore the black clad Super Soldiers that were her constant companion and guards. She was even less victorious in blocking the dark thoughts that percolated in her mind.

Why do I have to check on him? It's nice to know that my Crazy Dad wanted to defend his little girl. I mean, it's nice to know that they've stopped harping about how sick poor George is… because… being unwell… is no excuse for what he inflicted on me…

"Stay here," Samantha ordered her sept of guards before entering the visiting room.

The room was spotlessly tidy as though someone had cleaned it after their meeting…visitation… with George.

I could say that he's fine… and just return back to where my System Lord Father is fucking my best friend. I could just stay in this room for a bit and then return.

How long before Dad and Selmak are exhausted?

A brief shadow of a memory from Jolinar surfaced, and the fragment gave her a little too much information on Martesh and Lantesh's joint stamina.

He's been gone six… seven weeks… could be all afternoon. Well, I've got my zat; I've got a healing device, what else could a girl need to face her rapist?

One can of hairspray so I could nail him in the eye with it!

Plus Samantha knew that she truly needed a quick infusion of courage, as her stomach was roiling. Placing her shaking hand onto the ID pad, Samantha announced her arrival to George.

"Better be dressed," she thought darkly, "Else I'm zatting you. Don't expect a hello kiss either."

She entered George's cell and to her surprise, it was a mess. The couch was overturned, as were a few of the chairs and the tables. Well, they weren't overturned so much as their legs had been blasted away from where they had been secured to the floor. The formerly clean walls were stained with something…dark… and George wasn't there.

Least, she didn't see him.

"George? I'm here to check up on you," Samantha called out, proud that her voice was steady. For good measure, she had her hand securely wrapped around the zat… just in case he tried to pounce on her for a little r&r.

She looked closer at the stain and decided to follow the drips that were on the floor. It took some time, and a lot of deep breaths to calm her shattered nerves as she was getting slightly panicky at being alone with George… but she found him.

George was lying facedown on the floor, close to his bed. From the mess, it appeared that he had crawled there, had even attempted to get into the bed, and hadn't been able to manage it. Instead, a very bloody and battered George had pulled the blanket off the bed, managed to drape it around his body somewhat, and he had been content to fall asleep right then and there.

"George?" Samantha questioned, as she carefully nudged him with her toe.

Samantha's less than eager prodding earned her a slight moan from George. She jabbed him again harder on her next attempt and George tried to lift himself off the floor, using his arms to support his upper body. He failed miserably, and he collapsed back onto the floor with a soft grunt of pain.

"Jacob?" George moaned. "Back… early…"

"No, it's not Jacob," Samantha stated quietly.

Her voice seemed to startle George as he moved his head somewhat to face her, allowing her to bear witness to what her father had done to him. His battered and bruised face was covered in dried blood. George had wept recently as the tears that had run down his face had mixed with the blood causing some of the blood to appear wet. His lips were split, his nose broken and his one good eye appeared to be swollen shut.

Somehow he managed to open his good eye, made a Herculean effort to raise his head off the floor, and then he looked in her direction. George appeared confused at what he thought he was seeing.

"Sam…an…tha? Why are you…Here? Small… matter…. Between Jake………. Me…" he whispered, before he closed his eye.

He quickly put his head back down on the floor, and moaned. Softly.

Samantha said not a word.

Inwardly, she was at war.

One part of her was laughing and dancing in glee that George had gotten in spades what he had done to her. The monster wasn't quite as fearsome as he had been now that he had been cut down to size.

Repeatedly.

Yet another part of her was horrified at the sheer savagery of the beating her father had delivered on George. His swollen and misshapen fingers looked nothing more than overstuffed sausages and his right forearm had acquired an additional elbow as his radius and ulna bones now bent in mid-shaft.

Samantha felt sick to her stomach and she turned away from George, not wanting to see him lying on the floor. For just a moment, she had hallucinated briefly that it was General Hammond who was wearing his dress blues, lying on the gate ramp, bloody, battered and broken rather than an injured George on the floor of George's padded cell.

God. I have to stop thinking of you as the man you once were, and accept the simple fact that particular George Hammond's dead.

"Still… there?" George questioned after a few minutes.

He had been required to repeat that question several times in order for his faint voice to be heard, and he coughed up blood after his exertion, slightly panting from his effort.

"Yes," she admitted in a very soft voice.

"Jake's back… in a few hours… better leave… fore he gets here…though… I'm sure… you want… to enjoy the sight…. For a little while…" The bloodied, barely animated corpse that was George Hammond attempted a laugh, and then grimaced in apparent pain before continuing. "Favor… please?"

"What do you want me to do, George?" Samantha responded carefully. "I may not be able to do it…"

"Talk to me…" He whispered. "… ad…miss…ion… for freak… show…."

"You want to chat?" She questioned in a disbelieving tone. "You don't want me to get a doctor?"

"Punishment…. Have to wait…until Jake re..turns… then Selmak will heal me…. to be sure… that I wait… as long as you did…" George inhaled quickly and bit his lip. "Talk about …the girls…please…"

Hammond grimaced again, his body tensing up noticeably while he bit back a scream, and then he panted for a bit. Then his body relaxed and he sighed in relief.

"Help to focus… on something….. besides the pain…"

"What do you want me to talk about?" Samantha asked, feeling very uneasy about the entire situation.

What if he was just pretending that he was hurt? Maybe he was intent on lulling her into a sense of complacency before he attacked her again?

Yet, dear God, she should do something for him. Even Prisoners of Wars weren't treated like this under the Geneva Convention, though no doubt the Geneva Convention had gone up in flames like the rest of Earth when George and her father had nuked Earth. She took out the hand-held diagnostic device… the Tok'Ra tricorder as Janet jokingly called it, and placed it next to him. It would take a few minutes to catalog all his injuries, but it appeared from the red cast to the display screen that George was in very bad shape.

"Baby you're…. carrying…" George flinched; barely muted his cry of pain and then panted again…"God damn spasms…hurt…"

Samantha moved away from George, and she sat down weakly on the overturned sofa. Protectively, she placed her hands over her belly, wanting to protect her daughter… somehow… from this insane nightmare she found herself in.

Her FATHER had done THAT to his best friend.

"Know if… Boy…Girl?" George questioned.

"She's a girl," Samantha told him.

"Name?"

"Emma… I've been calling her Emma…" Samantha explained.

"Lovely… name…." Then George muttered something and Samantha couldn't hear him.

"I can't hear you, George," Samantha called out to the still figure.

He swallowed a few times, before repeating himself. The effort to talk seemed to be exhausting him, as his form was growing still.

"Can… you love Emma… despite… a mon..ster…. for a daddy….," the bloody figure questioned. "Oh God… oh God… it hurts… it hurts…."

"Yes," Samantha stated easily. "I love our children, George."

George sighed softly, almost in appreciation, as though she had given him some sort of benediction and then he tried to speak to her again. He lacked the energy to do more than mouth a few words, and she waited for him to repeat himself. Finally, after he remained silent for too long, she prompted him.

"I can't hear you, George…"

Minutes passed, and she repeated her query several times. Then the tricorder chirped signifying the scan was completed and it made another more urgent sound, signifying a critical diagnosis. Samantha then stood up, and walked over to where George was lying. His mouth was moving and she sat down next to him.

"George… what are you saying?" Samantha questioned, even as she reached for the tricorder.

He didn't answer her, and she placed her hand on his face. His skin was pale, cool and clammy, and her heart lurched. Then she heard George whisper again. Leaning over him, she heard him murmur, "…not … gonna… get girls…and you … home… So sorry… dear…" He wet his lips before continuing softly, "about….every…thing…"

Then she looked at the tricorder and the display showed that George was dying as his spleen had ruptured.

Janet continued to rub and massage Jacob's tight neck. She had managed to cajole him into lying down on the floor and she was sitting next to him. His neck was a literal knot of tension and she concentrated on gentle, flowing strokes. Normally, Jake should have been relaxing into a deep sleep but today… today something seemed to be bothering him.

"George was really apologetic about what he did to Sammy," Jake informed her unexpectedly. "You know… even though we know and accept that he was mentally ill when he hurt Sammy, George still is responsible for what happened between them."

"Yes," Janet agreed, as she continued stroking his neck with long, flowing caresses. "You're so tight, Jacob. Selmak must feel like she's encased in solid cement…"

Jake nodded and closed his eyes, allowing her to continue her ministrations.

After a few minutes, he spoke again, "I had to tell him how angry I was about what he did to Samantha…"

"Yes, of course you did…" Janet answered in a soothing voice, continuing to rub his neck.

"Couldn't do it while he recovering from the gunshot wound…" Jake explained in a soft voice, as though pleading for absolution. "These past few weeks… have been horrible. Dixon is a lousy second in command…I could have been home weeks ago if George had been there… All I could think was how angry I was with George. How it was his entire fault that I was away from my family… I obsessed about what he did to Sammy… and about all those people who died needlessly because Dixon couldn't handle being my second. I NEEDED George…. And he had to fucking crack up, Janet."

Janet continued kneading his neck, and then she asked a simple question, even though she knew the answer, and that she had sent her best friend into a situation for which she wasn't prepared. "Jake… is there something you want to tell me?"

Jake got up and pulled away from her. Janet caught a brief glimpse of immeasurable pain in his dark eyes before he turned away from her. He stood with his back to her, obviously ashamed from something he had done. His hands fidgeted in an obsessive manner at his sides.

Before he even started to speak, Janet felt like her stomach was doing flip flops and that she was about to hurl her eaten bagel onto the floor with a mighty heave. She forced the bile down and took a deep breath.

Oh God, Jake, what did you do?

"Tell me," she requested, fighting to keep her voice from quivering.

"Selmak and I… we…. I… we… might have… really hurt George…pretty badly just now… we used… a hand device on him… repeatedly…over and over…"

Jake turned around to face her. Janet almost gasped when she saw the madness in his eyes

"I couldn't stop…we couldn't stop! WE DIDN'T WANT TO STOP UNTIL HE FULLY COMPREHENDED WHAT HE HAD DONE! He needed to experience emotionally, physically and spiritually what he did to Samantha…"

Janet took an even deeper breath, closing her eyes to steady herself.

Oh, Christ, Jacob, you're cracking up. God help me!

"Help me up," she insisted. "I have to see him, Jacob. How badly do you think you and Selmak hurt him?"

Jake couldn't look at her when he admitted the awful truth.

"He was screaming and begging me to stop by the time I was done… just like I imagined Samantha had screamed for him to stop…"

Janet got to her own feet and went to him. He was losing it! She had to do something to bring him back. Only she didn't know what to do.

"Please don't…" Jake pleaded, pushing her arms away when she tried to give him a hug. "I don't deserve it! I'm no better than he is, in fact, I'm worse than he is! If I had let him die years ago, he never would have hurt Sammy!"

Janet was torn as she watched her husband slide down the wall covering his face so that she didn't see his tears. She knew she had to get to George but she couldn't leave Jacob or Selmak alone, especially not with the children.

"Oh God…I'm a monster…" he wept.

"Jake, come with me, please," she said, wrapping her arms around him in an attempt to pull him onto his feet. "Please, let me give you a sedative. You need to rest. You're not thinking clearly right now, you're so tired."

Jake laughed through his tears when he looked at her, "Don't worry I would kill myself before I ever lay a hand on you or the babies. But you know… George said that also… before he attacked Samantha…"

"Please, Jake…let me help you…there's still a chance I can save George!"

Jake nodded, getting to his feet. He seemed like he was in a trance as she led him to their bed. She knew he was talking with Selmak. Janet was wondering how far off the deep end Selmak had gone too, as she hurried to grab her black bag.

"Make sure you give us enough to keep us out a long time," Jake spoke softly then roughly pulled her into an embrace. "We DO love you and the babies…please remember that when we go totally insane."

Janet grabbed him by his face and ordered, "You will NOT go insane! Do you hear me Carter! You too Selmak! You owe it to Malcolm, to me…to Sam…and to George!"

Then she injected him with a few 100ccs of every sleeping drug she possessed, before calling Janal, her Jaffa nanny over to watch the children. Then after Janal agreed to babysit, Janet called Brightman, Siler and Davis, and instructed them to meet her at George's cell. Then she locked her husband into the bedroom and waited for Janal to arrive.

"George?" A woman's voice called softly. "GEORGE?"

"Yes," he rumbled.

"George! Open your eyes," the woman requested.

"Don't wanna…" George good-humoredly teased.

"Open them!" The authoritative voice insisted.

"Very well," George said.

He opened his eyes and for a moment, he was startled when saw Marie smiling at him. Why did he think that he wasn't supposed to be here? Why did he think that the woman's voice that was calling his name so intently belonged to someone else? He put those pressing questions to the back of his mind, and smiled up at his wife. To hell with those perplexing questions and that strange nagging feeling that something was seriously amiss, he was home, with his wife.

Damn it, this was as close to heaven as he wanted to get for a long while, sitting under a tree, enjoying the rare cool breeze on a hot Texas afternoon, his head resting in his wife's lap. The only way it could be better was if he could cajole Marie into making love. She was as frisky as a wildcat, but she didn't like making love in the great outdoors. He started caressing her leg, his fingers gently stroking that oh so sensitive area just behind her knee.

"George!" Marie protested with a slight purr, while he continued stroking her leg.

Oh, it was going to be a lovely afternoon indeed… after all, Marjorie was a year old already, and he really needed to give her a brother or sister, or at least start one, before he got shipped out again.

Marie's gentle hands rubbed the top of his head.

"Getting a little threadbare," Marie teased, before she planted a kiss on top of his head. "Plus you wear it so short…"

The length of his hair and his looming loss of what little still remained to him was a familiar, shaggy dog story between the two of them.

"GEORGE!" A female voice called his name loudly.

"Did you hear that?" George questioned Marie, as he regretfully sat up.

"What?" Marie questioned.

"I keep hearing a lady call my name…" George admitted. "Or ladies… as I think they're two different voices."

"A lady? LADIES!" Marie questioned in mock annoyance. For good measure, she gave him a well-deserved thwack on the top of his dome, as no self-respecting, God-Fearing Texas Gentleman should be hearing another lady's voice while lying next to his wife, and he certainly shouldn't be hearing two!

GEORGE! The voice seemed familiar, and he shook his head, not wanting to deal with unpleasant memories. Perhaps it was someone he had met in 'Nam. A nurse? No… that voice belonged to a doctor?

"There it is again," he said. "Now, don't get all green-eyed on me, I have no idea who they are."

"George…" Marie's voice was unexpectedly intense, and she put her hands on his face. "Listen to me… It's important. Don't listen to those voices… ok?"

Marie then kissed George passionately, and then when they finally had to gasp for air, Marie's hazel eyes were full of tears.

"Don't cry, Marie, I swear, I'll make it home safe," George promised.

"No… it's not that, George. It's those voices. Don't listen to them, George. For now, it's just us," Marie insisted before she started kissing him again.

"He's shocky," Janet stated to Samantha. "Sam, we need to tank him, he's bleeding out too fast for me to get an OR team together. GEORGE! GEORGE!"

George didn't respond to the repeated calling of his name, so Janet ripped his shirt open, and gave him a rather aggressive mid-sternum knuckle rub which earned her a slight moan.

"Responsive to pain, at least," Janet whispered, even as she was snapping orders to her first response team of Siler and Davis. "GEORGE!"

"You have to tank him?" Samantha asked, understandably less than thrilled with that idea as she was still dealing with the ramifications of George's last tanking.

"He's too far gone for the healing device, all it can do is keep him alive, not heal him. Oh God, Jake," Janet whispered, not wanting the others to overhear the awful truth. "You nearly killed him."

Then Janet looked at Samantha and told her the bitter truth, "The only way I can save George is by tanking him. You're his wife, so you have to give me permission."

Samantha felt like screaming. It was now her responsibility to decide if George lived or died?

"I don't know…" Samantha admitted. "The last time you tanked him… it wasn't a good thing…"

George seemed to rouse slightly at the discussion, and he mumbled, "No….no…. tank….Please…."

"Samantha?" Janet questioned. "What's your answer?"

Her father was insane. That was the only explanation for the sheer savagery of George's beating. If George died, her father would keep an eye on her, trying to be protective…overseeing her every move.

She'd never get home.

But if George was alive… she could get out of her father's apartment… she could get home…

"Tank him," Samantha stated firmly. "We don't want George to die…"

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine," George sang softly.

His wife was lying in his arms, and he was stroking her long hair with a protective touch even while he serenaded her softly. The song was another old joke between the two of them, and Marie woke up long enough to kiss him on the cheek. Then she curled up next to him, resting her head on his chest.

"Shall I continue?" George questioned Marie tenderly, and he laughed when she sleepily nodded her head. "You make me happy, when skies are grey. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away"

He finished the first verse and then Marie put one finger gently over his lips to stop him.

"Listen, George… I only have a short time with you," Marie said. "And I got distracted… you naughty, naughty boy."

"Marie, what the Sam Hell are you talking about?" George questioned as he was quite confused, and that pleasant post-coital mood was shot to hell. "When I put that ring on your finger, I planned on the long haul, girl."

"Listen to me… George… it's very important… You need to listen to me…" Marie explained. "You have to go back."

"To 'Nam, I know, darling," George stated tenderly. "I'm not gonna desert. You knew that when you married me. I know it's so hard for you, being alone with a young baby, but this war ain't gonna last forever."

Marie shook her head, and she covered her mouth with her hand. Then she shook her head, and tried again, "You need to go back…George… You can't stay here with me."

"Back where?" George questioned, trying not to convey how annoyed he was with Marie's enigmatic conversation. It was difficult for her, living alone on Randolph Air Force base with only Marjorie for company while he was in 'Nam.

Wait.

WAIT.

Lena had been two years old and her sister almost four years old when he had been stationed at Randolph. Why the hell did he think he was in Texas? Marie had been in California with Marjorie… Lena hadn't been born yet when he was in 'Nam…

Lena?

Lena?

Why did he think he had more than one daughter? He had two? No… Five? And grandkids? But by Marie's appearance, he'd guess that she was in her early twenties…

Why did he see an older gentleman, screaming obscenities and waving a bloody knife? Why did he see… little girls…. Blood strewn clothing… reaching for him, screaming that Grandpa had failed them.

"George… the voices… when they call for you, you need to answer…" Marie explained. "You have to go back, George. It's the only way you can save Jake and yourself. But it's going to be horrible, George…It really is… but it's the only way…No matter how bleak it gets, trust me, it's the only way…"

"What are you talking about, Marie?" George questioned. "I'm so damn bewildered… I think I need to go lie down. I feel… odd…"

"George… it's gonna be painful…but you have to do it. It's the only way to save your soul," Marie informed him. "Don't get discouraged… please… you have to fight… George… Fight hard."

Siler and Davis said not a word when they saw the bloodied George lying on the floor. Instead, they exchanged a quick glance even as they followed Janet's hurried instructions, and carefully placed George onto the waiting stretcher. Then the two men ran down to the waiting infirmary at a brisk pace, while Janet tried to keep up.

Naturally they beat her to the infirmary. The two men were transferring George to the waiting sarcophagus while Dr. Brightman was intializing the program. Samantha was by the wall, with her arms wrapped around herself.

"He's saying something…" Sam stated quietly.

"Really?" Janet questioned.

"Sounds like Marie…" Sam explained. "His first wife."

The voices were more insistent, and he tried to ignore them, as he had sweet talked Marie into making love again and he was pleased to be lying in bed with her. Well, he was almost content, as somewhere in their lovemaking, the sheets and the blankets to the bed had gone astray, and he was a might chilly.

Aha! There was the blanket on the floor, and he managed to snag it with his questing, outstretched hand. A little effort, and it was back on the bed where it belonged, and George was an extremely happy man once again.

Making love with Marie had cleared his thoughts, and re-centered his soul. Those strange female voices had stopped screaming his name, and he wasn't haunted by flashes of dying children that hadn't been born yet.

But Marie, naturally, wasn't having any of that. To be an Air Force wife, you needed independence, gumption and the ability to command your inferiors (e.g. husband) when they were slacking off in their assignments and Marie had those qualities in Spades.

"Go to them, George… you need to go to them," Marie insisted. "Follow them home, George."

"I don't understand, Marie. Aren't you happy that I'm home?" George questioned. "I've only got a few days on leave…"

"George… this is a dream…I'm not really here," explained his wife. "You've been hurt pretty bad, and you're dreaming this…"

George shook his head and gave her a saucy leer, "I've been having dreams, during those infrequent times you're letting me nap, girl. I can't be having dreams inside of a dream, Marie. They're such ugly dreams, Marie. Full of pain and grief…"

Naturally, as he was overly protective of Marie, he didn't tell her exactly what he had been dreaming. Snatches of scenes that included those dead kids while that old man laughed gleefully even while George mentally screamed, a battered, blond woman who had first fought against him, but who covered her head protectively with her hands while he punched and kicked her over and over again even as he screamed hate filled obscenities at her, a mushroom cloud of death that appeared upon the surface of the Earth and then another… and then another… and a coffin that hummed.

For a moment, when he had closed his eyes, he had felt as if unknown hands were placing him into that humming coffin. The lid was closing on him even as the blond woman who he had assaulted looked down at him with hate-filled eyes and bitterly whispered, "I ought to let you die, George. I really should, as you don't deserve to live."

Marie kissed him then and she stroked his face.

"Jacob's in trouble," Marie informed him. "You have to help Jacob, so when the voices call for you… go to them…"

"I don't understand, Marie," George protested.

"If you trust me, George, you'll go to the voices. Don't stay here with me," Marie insisted. "Promise me…please…"

"I will, dear…," he agreed. "Though you are making absolutely no sense to me."

His answer pleased Marie, and she cuddled close to him. He began stroking her hair even while he hummed, "You are My Sunshine."

Walter and Sly left the treatment room, leaving the doctors to their chores. The two men remained silent for a bit, and then Siler sighed. They were still inside of the infirmary, possibly the most bug-proof area of the entire New Earth compound outside of a few select areas, so they could talk freely.

"Fuck me," Siler cursed even while Walter nodded his head in agreement with that sentiment.

"Only one person could have done that," Walt stated. "Or two really."

"Looks like I won't be giving Jacob-Selmak their message from Chekov," Siler said. "If only his messenger had gotten to me a few hours sooner."

"Chekov has to be careful with Weir-do," Walt reminded him carefully. "He sent it when he could. Give it to Janet?"

"Yes, Janet will have to do. Samantha's not in a condition to do much, she barely spoke two words just now," Siler reminded Walt. "Hopefully, Janet can pull it together or else everything will go to hell."

"You mean it hasn't already?" Walt joked half-heartedly. "OK, let's get cleaned up and then let's speak to both of them."

When Janet and Samantha left the treatment room, they were greeted by Walter Harriman and Sly Siler.

"Thank you for the help today," Janet said.

Sam repeated Janet's thanks in a decidedly unappreciative tone, but Walt forgave her ambivalence as her mixed feelings toward George were understandable. A very uneasy Walter looked at Sly, and Sly returned the look and then nodded his head. Then Janet looked at Sam, who shrugged her shoulders to admit her confusion about what the two men were doing.

"Janet… Samantha… Sly and I want to speak to you about a serious matter," Walter explained slowly. "I hope that you two will understand that Sly and I have known about the current situation for a while, and we've not spoken about it to anyone. Not even to our wives."

"Only to each other, and that was once," Sly inserted.

"Go ahead," Janet said calmly. "Let's hear it."

"We know that the General… had a breakdown… after… an incident… with Samantha…" Walter stated quietly. "You have been covering up his disappearance for the last two months as the fact that after the last… assassination attempt…"

Walter used his hands to put quotes around assassination attempt.

"He desired to spend more time with his wife and children," Sly stated.

"You're wrong," Janet insisted loudly.

"Ma'am, please… let us continue?" Walter requested softly. "There's only person that the General would ever allow to beat him up like that… and that's Jacob Carter, which means… that there's a strong possibility that Jacob Carter is…"

"Unwell…" Sly inserted as delicately as possible. "Ma'am, feel free to deny it, but we need to warn you that both Chekov and Weir will be insisting shortly that they speak with Jacob and the General."

"I'm afraid Jacob's calendar is full at the moment," Janet stated quickly. "He's been away for almost two months, and he will be spending the next several days with his family. Chekov and Weir will have to wait."

"Ma'am, please, we know the truth," Siler inserted. "We know that General Hammond, Selmak and Jacob Carter have been there from the beginning of Earth's destruction. We know they ALL have been under a tremendous amount of pressure to ensure New Earth's survival. We know they're good friends and what happens to one affects the other. I sincerely doubt that anyone else could have managed it better then the three of them under such circumstances. So, can we… please… drop the pretense? I know you wonder why you should trust us… but the two of us, we're loyal to the General."

Walt nodded his head in agreement with Siler's comment.

"So, I'm sure Jake will be delighted to know that you're loyal to George rather than to him," Janet snapped. "I would have thought better of you two."

"Ma'am, I'm loyal to the General because the General saved my life," Sly stated with a quiet dignity, which was marred only slightly by his haste in speaking his assurance, as Janet did not look at all pleased by what she was hearing. And the last thing they wanted to do was upset Jacob's queen...they needed her. "When the decision was made to nuke Earth, the General tried to save as many people as he could by sending them off world through the Stargate. My oldest daughter and my grandchild were able to be saved…"

Siler paused, and Samantha remembered that Sly once had two girls from his first marriage.

"I've worked for General Hammond for years now, ma'am," Walt reminded her. "My loyalty is and will always be foremost with him and I trust his judgments. General Hammond's loyalty is to Jacob, and so will ours. Sly and I were honored when the General asked us to guard his wife. As you are no doubt aware, ma'am, we have successfully protected her numerous times as the two of us are viewed as…"

Janet nodded her head even as Samantha turned toward Janet and whispered, "What?"

"Harmless middle aged men. The Super Soldiers are viewed as the ones responsible for preventing Samantha's assassination," Sly stated deprecatingly. "Meanwhile Walt and I are considered the lap dogs of the General, given a cushy assignment of assisting his wife in her lab merely because of the simple truth that Samantha wouldn't look twice at us. People talk very freely to us. On occasion, we're given messages to slip to him from his operatives that don't want to be seen speaking directly to the General."

"I'm going to ask you again, why should I trust you?" Janet repeated calmly though her eyes were furious. "You stated to me that you're not loyal to my husband. If George decided to go his own way, you'd follow him."

"Ma'am, I didn't say that, but our first loyalty is to the General. We are grateful for what your husband has done trying to keep the remnants of Earth's population safe. As for following the General if he splits from Jacob, the odds of General Hammond and Jacob splitting apart after all they've been through together are rather poor. We've been working covertly for the General all these past years, being his eyes and ears among the general populace. Like I explained, we're viewed as harmless," Walter insisted intently.

"And bluntly speaking, there isn't anyone else to trust," Sly said. "The wolves are circling, ma'am, and they're perfectly willing to tear your throats out. Dixon had a taste of command, and he decided that he liked it. Watch out for Weir, Dixon and John Sheppard. Chekov sent that message to the General this morning. Chekov believes that Weir is attempting to lead a rebellion against your husbands and that the Jaffa are planning on walking out of our alliance."

"Ma'am, it is imperative that you get the General back on his feet," Walter advised. "Sane or not, he'll be able to think circles around Dixon and Weir."

"If Jacob's having… difficulties, General Hammond is the only person that can keep you and your family safe. The old guard is still loyal to him," Sly insisted. "We know… that he's not the man he once was… but nobody… nobody…in this camp can truly look themselves in the mirror and claim that they haven't done…. Things… that they wished they hadn't…. just to survive."

"God knows I can't," Walt whispered softly.

"Nor can I," Siler agreed. "And God knows, I wish I could."

You Are My Sunshine
My only sunshine.
You make me happy
When skies are grey.
You'll never know, dear,
How much I love you.
Please don't take my sunshine away

He must have fallen asleep, George thought. His eyes were closed, but he was still humming that damn song.

"Marie?" George called.

Odd, he didn't smell her perfume, and he seemed to be alone in the bed. He stretched then, and his eye opened when his hand hit something overhead. There was a ceiling, mere inches from his nose, and there were walls on either side of him.

Memories came rushing back, as he realized that once again he had been tanked.

Re-animated.

And brought back into the game.

No, God, no.

Why wouldn't they just let him die already? When the hell would Jacob Carter finally accept the simple truth that there was no way in hell George could ever make amends for the evil that he had done in this lifetime?

He was crying, he knew it. It was all he could do, while waiting, fearing for that moment when the lid of the sarcophagus was removed, and he would be ordered to continue fighting that hopeless, non-winnable war.

Why wouldn't that damn Jacob just let him die, he thought.

Please.

PLEASE.

The other nite, dear,
As I lay sleeping
I dreamed I held you in my arms.
When I awoke, dear,
I was mistaken
And I hung my head and cried.